Albert mulder



(No Model.)

. A. MULDER.

WASHING MACHINE.

Patented Apr. 21

Z JQ 7 Inventor.

Witnesses:

.JNii no STATES ALBERT MULDER, OF MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO JANEMULDER, OF SAME PLACE.

WASHING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 558,697, dated April21, 1896.

Application filed April 18, 1894. Serial No. 507,958x (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT HULDER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Muskegon, in the county of Muskegon and State of Michigan,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in VVashing-Machinesand I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in washboards of that class whichhave combined therewith a reciprocating rubberboard; and the objects ofthe invention are, first,to provide an improved washboard which can beoperated with ease to thoroughly and quickly cleanse the fabrics withoutrequiring the operator to constantly immerse the hands in the water andmanipulate the clothes; secondly, to so combine the reciprocating rubberwith the stationary washboard as to enable the reciprocating rubber tobe adjusted at different distances from the stationary board and therebyaccommodate the different thicknesses of fabrics, and, thirdly, toenable ready access to be had to the guides in order to lubricate thesame.

XVith these ends. in view, and such others as pertain to my invention,it consists in the combination, with a pivoted frame on the stationarywashboard, of flanged guide-rails attached to the bars of said frame, ahollow or chambered reciprocating rubber provided with grooved rails, inwhich are fitted the flanges on the guide-rails on the pivoted frame,and stop-pins carried by the rubber to limit the movement of thereciprocating rubber in one direction on the pivoted frame.

The invention further-consists in the C01l1- bination, with a stationaryboard, a guideframe, and a reciprocating rubber fitted to slide on theguide-frame, of a pair of angular brackets attached to the guide-frameand having slotted ends by which the brackets can be adjustably attachedby the pivotal bolts to the stationary board, whereby the adjustableframe and the reciprocating board guided thereon can be placed atvarying distances from the stationary board to accommodate fabrics ofdifferent thicknesses between said stationary and reciprocating boards;and the invention finally consists in the construction and combinationof parts which will be hereinafter fully describedand claimed.

To enable others to more readily understand my invention I haveillustrated the same in the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view. Fig. 2is a longitudinal central sectional view. Fig. 3 is a detailcross-sectional view, on the plane indicated by the dotted line a; a ofFig. 2, to more clearly show the slide-guides between the pivoted frameand the reciprocating rubber. Fig. 4: is a detail view of the angularbrackets by which the pivoted frame can be attached to the washboard.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings, referring to which A designates the stationarywashboard. This washboard may be of any preferred or approvedconstruction, and, as usual, it has the legs a, the metallicrubber-surface a, and the soap-receptacle a at the top of the board.

13 is the pivotal guide-frame, which is substantially rectangular inform and consists of the slide-rails c d and the tie bar or bars 6, bywhich the side rails are rigidly connected or united together.

If desired, the rails 0 (:1 may be connected bya single wide board; butthe detailed construction of the guide-frame is immaterial and may bechanged at pleasure.

The guide-frame is of less width than the rubbing-board A, and it isattached thereto by means of the brackets O O, which extend in oppositedirections from the side rails or the guide-frame. These brackets aremade of metal, in the angular form shown by Fig. 4: of the drawings, andthe brackets are rigidly attached at one end to the side rails 0 cl ofthe frame B by means of the bolts c, While the other ends of thebrackets are provided with longitudinal slots d, through which arepassed the bolts e, that pivotally and adj ustably attach the brackets,the guide-frame, and the reciprocating rubber E to the stationarywashboard A.

On the outer faces of the side rails c d of 100 the pivoted frame B areattached the flanged guide-rails F G, each of which is formed of asingle piece of metal and provided with a rib or flange f, that projectsoutwardly from the guide-frame, as shown by Fig. 3.

The reciprocating rubber-board E is hollow or chambered to receive theupper part of the guide-frame B within itself. As a preferredconstruction of the reciprocating rubber I employ a pair of parallelsides 'i i, an imperforate top board j, top and bottom end rails k atthe lower side of the reciprocating rubber, and a roughened orcorrugated working surface l, which is fitted between the rails 71! 7t"and suitably attached to the side and end rails of the board E. Thisconstruction provides a chamber E within the reciprocating rubberE,inwhich chamber is fitted the guideframe B, and to the inner opposingfaces of the sides 1' t" of this reciprocating rubber are attached thegrooved guide-rails II II. These grooved guide-rails are preferablyfitted or seated in channels m, formed in the sides i 2" of therubber-frame E, and in the grooves m, formed in the guide-railsthemselves,are fitted the flanges f of the guide-rails F G on thepivoted guide-frame, whereby the rubber E is guided in its reciprocatingmovement on the pivoted frame B.

The upper cross-rail k" of the reciprocating rubber E is curved toextend from the lower board Z to the upper imperforate board j, so as toclose the upper end of the rubber E.

The side rails i 'i are formed at their upper ends with enlarged beaks n0, which project beyond the upper imperforate board j, and these beakshave the straight shoulders 0, which are adapted to fit or take over theupper edge of the washtub when the pivoted frame 13 and the rubber E areturned at an angle to the board A, to enable the fabrics to be adjustedupon the board A preparatory to lowering the pivoted frame and rubber Einto a substantially parallel position to the washboard so as to rub andcleanse the fabrics between the board A and the rubber E. To these beaksn 0 is attached the handle-bar Q, which may be fastened in place byscrews or equivalent means, and by grasping which handle-bar theattendant can reciprocate the rubber E back and forth over the board Aand the fabrics between the rubber E and said board A.

The reciprocating rubber is limited in its movement in one direction onthe guideframe 13 by means of the stop-pins I, which are attached to therubber E in positions to be in line with the flanged rails F G, so thatwhen the rubber E is moved upward the pins abut against the ends of therails F G, and thus arrest the upward movement of the rubber, thedownward movement of the rubber being limited by the end rail j of therubber coming in contact with the ends of the side rails c (l of theframe B. These stop-pins are preferably threaded and screwed into thetapped sockets 1, formed in the side rails i t" of the rubber E. Byremoving the pins Ithe rubber can be drawn from the guide-frame,

so as to expose the flanged and channeled guide-rails, and thus enableeasy access to be had thereto for the purpose of cleaning or lubricatingthe same.

The operation and advantages of myinvention will be readily understoodand appreciated by those skilled in the art from the foregoingdescription, taken in connection with the drawings.

I am aware that slight changes in the form and proportion of parts andin the details of construction such as employing a metal which will notrust when exposed to water, or of employing metallic parts which arecoated with noncorrosive metals, such as Zinc. I therefore reserve theright to make such alterations and modifications as fairly fall withinthe scope of invention.

I am aware that it is not new, broadly, to provide a guide-frame whichhas a pivotal connection with a washboard, and which is provided on theopposing faces of its side rails with longitudinal grooves, in which arefitted tenons on the sides of a reciprocating rubber; and I am alsoaware that a washboard has been provided with grooves in the legs at thebottom side of said washboard, in which grooves are fitted guide-pinsthat are attached to sliding bars, combined with a flat solid rubberwhich is pivoted to said sliding bars, and springs acting upon saidrubber to normally press it toward the washboard.

My improvements are distinguished from these prior devices in that myrubber is made hollow to receive the guide-frame, from which frame saidrubber is readily detachable for the purpose of cleaning and drying theparts; in the employment of guide-rails on the engaging parts of therubber and guide-frame to give long solid bearingsurfaces on which therubber is free to slide and by which the rubber is held in properrelation to the washboard, and in the employment of removable stop-pins,which are attached to said rubber and arranged in the path of theguide-rails on the pivoted guide-frame to limit the play or movement ofthe rubber in one direction, which pins can be detached to permit therubber to be taken off the guide-frame.

In my improved device the brackets C have their slotted ends connectedto the legs of the washboard, and the guide-frame is pivoted to theinner end of said brackets, whereby the guide-frame and the rubber canbe adjusted at varying distances relatively to the washboard for thepurpose of accommodating clothes of different thicknesses between theboard and rubber, and the latter is guided properly by the railsinterposed between the frame B and the rubber to cause the rubber toproperly operate on the clothes.

It is frequently desirable to throw the rubber and guide-frame away fromthe washboard for the purpose of rubbing the clothes by hand on theboard, and to hold the rubber and frame out of position I have providedthe rubber with the beaks 0, which can be caused to rest upon the upperedge of the washtub, so that the rubber or frame 13 will not drop backtoward the board A when the clothes are being rubbed by hand upon theboard.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a washboard, A, of the hollow rubber E provided,on the inside thereof, with the interior grooved guiderails m, the frameB fitted within said hollow rubber, the flanged rails m fastened to thesides of said frame B and fitted into the grooves of the rails m theremovable pins, 1,

attached to the rubber and arranged in line with the guide-rails m,andthe brackets 0 connecting the frame B to the Washboard, substantiallyas described, for the purposes set forth.

2. The hollow rubber E provided on the outer face thereof with theholding shoulders or ledges 0 which project beyond the plane of therubber, combined with a washboard, the frame 13 fitted within saidhollow rubber, the interlocking sliding rails m, m, attachedrespectively to the guide-frame B and the hollow rubber E, thedetachable pins I con- ALBERT MULDER. lVitnesses:

JOHN B. BARLOW, J ACOB J. OLSEN.

